John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the motion put forward by Deputy Ó Cuív. The tabling of it emphasises the need for the Government to tackle the ongoing fodder crisis.

As many Deputies on this side of the House have said, this crisis was ignored by the Department when it began in 2012. It is now inflicting grievous damage on livestock. There is an urgent need for co-operation between Government agencies, financial institutions and suppliers to help struggling farmers. There is a certain amount of co-operation, but in the current circumstances, it does not go far enough. The Minister made available some moneys for transport, which was a good initiative, but many farm organisations and farmer groups have told me that the €1 million made available by the Minister is nowhere near adequate to meet farmers' needs.

I never thought I would see the day there would be there would be a fodder crisis in parts of Wexford. Farmers have contacted me, as I am sure they have contacted Deputies Kehoe and Twomey and the other Oireachtas Members in the county, to point out the situation in parts of County Wexford. I heard a good news story in recent days of Wexford farmers selling bales of silage to farmers in Galway for €15, bearing in mind it costs €20 to produce them. There is an air of generosity among farmers in our area. That is good because it is important that farmers who have fodder would help out farmers in the west and other parts of the country.

The agrifood sector is an important one. The plan for the sector is to increase production massively between now and 2020, which was introduced by the previous Government has been taken on board by the current Government. We are aware of the importance of the cattle industry and the meat plants, a number of which are located in my county, of which the Minister will be aware. Those engaged in the management of them are concerned that because of the scarcity of cattle and lack of breeding, as pointed out by Deputy Kirk, and because some farmers are threatening to get out of the cattle industry, there may not be adequate product to meet their needs for the future. It is important the 300,000 jobs in this area would not be affected by a lack of decisions by the Department.

I was a Minister of State in the Department for a few years. The officials in the Minister's Department adopt a very conservative attitude when it comes to giving out money. They always advise the Minister to spend as little as possible. It is important he would be his own man in the Department and would do what needs to be done to help farmers at this time. He would have to accept that the amount of money he put forward to date will not meet the needs of the farming community. The IFA and other agriculture bodies have made more moneys available than the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It is good that those bodies are making money available as well. At a time of crisis, the Department cannot carry the full can and it is important that such bodies would contribute. The Minister must increase the funding and the involvement of bodies across the board to ensure a similar situation does not arise again.

I understand that SuperValu has come on board but what about Tesco, Dunnes Stores and the other supermarkets that avail of high quality Irish products from the farming community? They should also come on board in terms of making a contribution. If farmers are not in a position to produce because of the lack of fodder, we will not have many high quality Irish products, which are essential, on the supermarket shelves. Fair play to SuperValu, but many of the other supermarkets should follow suit.

A number of farmers, particularly those living in disadvantaged areas, have asked me if the Minister would bring forward some of the payments that he can bring forward. I accept that some cannot be brought forward, but farmers in disadvantaged areas in particular are suffering severely, and it is important, if possible, for the Minister to make advanced payments as quickly as possible.

On the matter of funding from the banks, I know the Minister has met the banks and they have made promises but usually they make many promises they do not keep. They need to loosen up in terms of access to funds but, more importantly, they need to fast-track decision making. I know of many farmers with a good credit record who have applied for loans in the current circumstances and it has taken a month to six weeks for the banks to make decisions on their applications. Farmers need the money from the banks as quickly as possible. I ask the Minister to contact the banks again and ask them to fast-track loan applications from farmers. Some farmers will be refused a loan because of their credit rating or for some other reason, but farmers who have a good credit rating need to have a decision made on their loan applications as quickly as possible.

Another issue that concerns many farmers is that we did not react when this happened in 2012, and it has happened again in 2013. What management plan will the Minister put in place to ensure this crisis does not happen again? The loss of grass growth during recent months will create major problems in 2014. I do not like to be a doomsday person but I think we will have a similar or perhaps a bigger problem in 2014. There is considerable expertise in the Department, in Johnstown Castle and in Teagasc, and surely with the combination of that expertise working with the farm organisations, the merchants and the co-operatives, the Minister can put in place a system that will ensure adequate fodder will be available in 2014. The necessary arrangements need to be made and if the fodder has to be brought in from abroad, so be it, but there should not be a fire-brigade approach to addressing the issue, as happened this year. The fodder that is being brought in is welcome, but future provision of it should be well planned. I hope the Minister is doing that in the Department and that his officials are working not alone on the current situation, which must be dealt with as a priority, but on the situation down the road and how he will deal with problems that may arise in late 2013 early 2014.

Farming community groups have taken action to help farmers grapple with the crisis. The IFA has created a €1 million fund, the Irish Dairy Board has established a €2 million fund for redistribution to dairy farmers, and the co-operatives have taken a lead in sourcing supplies through co-operatives. It is important that the lead given by the farm organisations and the co-operatives would be reciprocated by the Minister and by his Department. The amount of money that the Minister has made available is nowhere near adequate to meet the needs of farmers. I estimate that it needs to be increased tenfold between now and later this year to ensure there is adequate funding available to meet the problems that may arise later in the year.

Farming is an important industry and it is important to the economic future of the country. We all accept that the one area where there has been growth and that has helped to develop the economy during the past 18 months is the farming sector. It would be a disaster if we were to have a lower level of production, less product for meat plants, less products for supermarkets and less products in our country at a time when there are opportunities for farmers in the European and world markets. We must help farmers through this crisis to ensure that they increase, expand and develop for the future, but they will only do that if they get further help and support from the Government.

There are not many disadvantaged areas in Wexford but there are large disadvantaged areas across the country.

They need help and prioritisation now. If the Minister can make funds available he should do so without any further delay.

See this speech in context